Keeping plates spinning - studying while you work
While Learning and Development is absolutely not my specialty, as someone who has undertaken all of their undergraduate and postgraduate education while working (in the main on a full time basis), I’m a big advocate for investing in continuous professional development. Sometimes my desire to keep learning leaves me with a constant feeling of itchy feet – always looking for another qualification to undertake and another skill to develop. The thing is, learning while working (and balancing family and everything else) is not easy – but many are doing it, and if you can make it work you can gain valuable skills and experience without disrupting your career.
Statistics in respect of the UK labour market and skills shortages make for an interesting read. Projections suggest that by 2030 there’ll be a significant deficit of high skills if there isn’t an increase in qualification levels (UK Gov, 2021). Something that the Government have introduced seemingly in part as a response to this, and in order to meet apprenticeship targets, is the apprenticeship levy. Where organisations are capitalising on this, any staff enrolled need to find a way to balance training while working. Of course, to qualify for the levy employers need to facilitate a certain percentage of time “off the job” to get involved in the training – but I can’t help wonder how many organisations truly facilitate this protected time, and how many organisations do allow protected time but employees still find themselves embroiled in the day to day tasks associated with their roles.
Another situation that could result in an increase in individuals trying to balance working while studying, is the impact of the pandemic on job satisfaction. It’s reported that around 34% of people in the UK are considering a change in career following the pandemic (L&W 2022), with the global picture showing that 77% of people are ready to learn new skills or completely retrain (PWC 2021) – which may drive a lot of people to consider commencing education alongside their current role as part of working towards a position in a new sector.
So if you’re one of these individuals hoping to learn while you earn – here are my tips for keeping on top of those spinning plates!
• Talk to your boss about your course – Whether it’s something related to work, or if you’re hoping to gain a new skill; if there’s the potential for your studying to have any sort of impact on work it’s better to be up front with your employer about it. I’ve been really lucky in my career to have supportive employers who have afforded me time away from normal duties (and sometimes funding) in order for me to work towards my qualifications. You may find yourself in a similar situation. If your course isn’t work related, or if your boss isn’t forthcoming with specific support however, their awareness of your studies may still be helpful if you need to book annual leave for exams or need support with research.
• Build a network of support on your course – I have met some amazing HR practitioners during my time studying for my CIPD qualifications, and during my most recent mediation training I had the pleasure of studying with some very talented individuals (including a surgeon and very senior official within a hospital). The people on your course who are also working and balancing their personal lives are best placed to understand the challenges you’re going to face, and will be a great sounding board while you all study together.
• Request support and understanding at home – Taking on a course of any kind while working and balancing personal commitments is challenging. If you’ve got the ability to rally help with childcare, or you can get your friends to support you by not inviting you to exciting events when you have to study, it will help!
• Get organised – Courses often have exams and assignments, with deadlines to meet and targets to hit. If you’ve also got a demanding role to navigate and you’ve things to remember in your personal life (e.g. projects for school, which day does your son have swimming and your daughter have football again?) you need to get your ducks in a row to be able to handle everything successfully.
So there you have it! I don’t know what my next course will be, and right now my brain is being occupied by just getting back up to speed following my maternity leave, but I look forward to the next challenge and I hope you’ll be inspired to get involved and start studying too.
References
L&W (2022) https://learningandwork.org.uk/news-and-policy/uk-skills-shortage-update/
PWC (2021) https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/upskilling/hopes-and-fears.html